Gluten free Baking, baking and more baking.....4 new recipes!

Baking is literally such a guilty pleasure and I share the recipes more so for my memory and also the pleasure of hopefully 1/2 people who might actually have a go and try and attempt the same one day, I do hope that people have a pop at these things. I try to make them very simple, gluten free, easy to get hold of ingredients and not long to make. This makes it easy for the average Joe to have a go at them.

Almond flour and chia charge cake

Making this cake was a little difficult at first but I made two versions and the second one I did in a taking try and not a cake dish and is worked so much better. The cake doesnt rise that much but taste so good. The polenta in it is actually very original and makes for a very good texture.

Ingredients:

150g polenta

150g ground almonds

3 tbsp honey

50g pea protein

2 tsp chia seeds

1 whole chia bar

1 egg

1. Pre-heat the oven at 170

2. Combine all into a food processor and wiz till combined.

3. Make sure none of the batter is stuck to the sides and it all goes into the lined baking tray. 

4. Bake for 25-35mins and leave to cool.

5. Slice and enjoy (amazing with peanut butter) 

 

Brazil nut, date, @pulsin pea protein and honey cookies. 

Ingredients:

200g Brazil nuts

200g dates

2 tbsp honey 

50g pea protein

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180

2. Combine all into a food processor and wiz till combined.

3. When the cookies make a dough (it will be a little wet) roll into small balls and place on a baking try, and squish with a fork. 

4. Bake for 15mins and leave to cool.

Cashew nut butter, coconut oil and honey cookies. 

Ingredients:

200g Cashew nut butter

2 tbsp honey 

2 tbsp of melted coconut oil.

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180

2. Combine all into a food processor and wiz till combined.

3. When the cookies make a dough (it will be a little wet) roll into small balls and place on a baking try, and squish with a fork. 

4. Bake for 15mins and leave to cool.

Raw peanut butter, nutella, coconut oil brownies.

Ingredients:

200g peanut butter

2 tbsp honey 

2 tbsp of melted coconut oil

2 tsp chia seeds

3 tbsp of nutella

1 scoop of @pulsin pea protein

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180

2. Combine all into a food processor and wiz till combined.

3. Add to a loaf tin lined with cling film and place in the freezer.

4.Take out as and when and slice to eat.

Gluten free cycling fuel - rice cakes.

The book below has changed the way I have been baking and making gluten free cycling fuel, the first chapter is fantastic and really does have an amazing outlook on training and how adaptation, fueling and recovery play a huge roll in the life of a top quality athlete (not sure I'm quite there yet). The book has so many fantastic different portable fuel ideas, and has led me to try them but also adapt them to my own ideas. 

Ingredients:

200g rice crispies 

100g delicious alchemy gluten free rice flakes @4GlutenFreeFood

75g almond flour

2 tbsp coco

2 tbsp butter 

100g currants

100ml almond milk

Directions:
To make these it is very simple.

1.Add butter to a pan and melt.
2.Add the almond milk and heat gently.
3.Once the milk has heated slightly add the rice crispies, stir well and then add the almond flour.
4.After these have combined with the milk and become a little thick, add the coco and the currants.
5. Transfer to a shallow tin lined with baking paper and leave to cool. (I put it in the fridge after 10/15mins)
6. lye out and cut into squares. Wrap each square with foil and you are ready to go.

NEW BEGINNING....WATTAGE, MATT BOTTRILL and a new start......Euro 2016 qualification.

It has been a rather tough month and if you asked me how I felt 4 weeks ago I would have gave you an honest answer and it would have been rather confused. I  was on a taper week ready to race clumber classic after a rather crap race two week prior. I had no idea how I was going to race and was very worried that it would be another repeat performance of a substandard race....and low and behold it was another very poor race by my standards. I wanted more from racing and have worked my ass off during the winter (turns out making myself weaker and weaker, week on week). After these very disappointing results I found myself very lost and didnt know what to do where to turn or what step to make next, I also had Horst European Duathlon Championships on the horizon...so it was crunch time. I needed to now make some decisions, first of which was getting a coach, this was and I hope to be a fundamental and critical decision to contribute towards me making progress in the future. I almost want to achieve too much and have been burring myself week in and out and doing far to much with not enough of the right stuff. I can now see and say that I was chronically fatigued and am now starting to shake it and come out of it, but there is still more work to be done there.

The coach I have chosen for my new beginning is Matt Bottrill, his credentials talk for them self and he is one of the most talented time trialist's to ever grace the British shores with some fantastic records for numerous distances.



http://www.mattbottrillperformancecoaching.com/


Matt is going to look after my cycling and provide me with the correct training plans to improve my cycling. I know this isnt a quick fix...what it? So I am in it for the long run to suffer and strive to improve my cycling and get faster! The first thing Matt told me was, if you want me to make you faster you must train to wattage...so thats what ive done, and the chosen type of power meter is stages. This was recommended by a friend and has been great so far. Wattage has no variance and is what it is, you push what you push and things like caffeine will not alter it. So on wards and upwards!  Next stop....new bike?


The next decision was, what do I do about Horsts? obviously the race had now passed, but it was a very hard decision especially because it was something that I was working towards all winter....but I decided to pull. It was a hard decision, but certainly the correct one. I had such high aspirations to do well at Horst but it just didnt work out, the training and focus was lost due to many things and I just had to make the best decision for myself!



Although I had such a bad race at Clumber Park duathlon I did however manage to qualify for the European Duathlon Championships in 2016, which as a slight silver lining. This is something to aim for and a realistic goal to aim for to achieve something serious in the sport.

NEW TOY!


So where to go next, I have a program in place, a new coach, a few new toys and a summer of miles and improvements! The winter almost killed me and now I have a coach to make sure this does not happen again!


Also watch this new space for some new recipes..............

Waffles................BOOM! www.pulsin.co.uk

So I have brought a waffle iron, yes a waffle iron. I can hear the gluten free, high protein waffle imagination cogs turning. I have been tempted to buy one for a little while now and oh my what a joy, literally so much pleasure when you see a perfectly formed waffle come out!

Protein Waffles - First ever attempt.....and it begins!

Second attempt and recipe below. Getting adventurous, Chia Charge and pulsin protein waffles. No flour in sight!

Ingredients:

100g Pulsin pea protein powder www.pulsin.co.uk

Half - a Chia Charge bar http://chiacharge.co.uk/buy-chia-charge-flapjacks.html

50g Ground Almonds 

2 eggs (whisked)

50ml Almond milk

Mix all the dry ingredients into one bowl, and make sure they have combined well.

Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl, make sure that they are whisked well. 

Combine the two together and make sure it isnt too think, if it is then add a little more almond milk. The batter should be a little gloopy, but too thick. 

Spray the waffle iron with a spray oil, I use coconut oil spray (trust its best)! 

Leave the waffle iron to do its thing, and come back to it and check its not burnt, then leave it till crispy and soft. I serve mine with www.meridianfoods.co.uk almond butter and it was delicious. 

VELOTEC

http://www.velotec.co.uk/


http://www.velotec.co.uk/tri.html

Velotec's Tri suit is instantly comfortable whether cycling or running. It was instantly likable as soon as put it on. The armholes have a larger mesh on the rear, which frees up your shoulder blades and makes it a real pleasure to run in. The smooth pad has good thicknesses and is a perfectly nice platform to be perched upon even during longer rides. The material is stretchy and supportive so it doesn’t restrict movement in any of the disciplines, while the open back allows free arm movement when running. Ventilation is good thanks to the front zip, and when testing it I also had a base layer on and still felt extremely comfortable. It is functional as well because of the pockets at the back which allow you to store gels and nutrition. It is comfortable from the off set and you can tell the quality from the start. this is an extremely well put together tri suit and will be hard to beat. 

Verdict
A decent suit that does everything well and has great upper body freedom, high quality comfort and reliable.

http://www.velotec.co.uk/cycling.html

Delicious Alchemy - Gluten free bread mix

http://www.deliciousalchemy.co.uk/


I had the pleasure of being able to bake some delicious gluten free bread at the weekend. This gluten free bread mix is very easy to use because all you need to do it add water and oil. It takes the stress out of making bread, although it does take a little practice before you get it right, so I recommend ordering a few packets and not giving up at the first try.

http://www.deliciousalchemy.co.uk/product/brown-bread-mix/

I made four different batches at the weekend and they all tasted great and toasting them was unreal, so light and delicious. I made a normal brown bread mix, a nutmeg and chocolate loaf, a vanilla and honey protein loaf (my fave) and a coffee and chocolate loaf (didn't quite work, but it was worth a go).

 

Here is the brown bread mix, it was my first attempt and to be honest found it hard to make it raise. Without a bread mixer it was hard to add air for the rise and it baked a little dense. It was very tasty though and I e enjoyed it toasted alot!

 

Above is the chocolate and nutmeg loaf, it turned out very well and actually very tatsy, it ended up more like a desert loaf. It was delicious with a cup of coffee, and my mother also agreed!

I added, 3 desert spoons of coco and 1 large table spoon of nutmeg. This was the perfect amount and I also needed to add an extra 50ml of water to the mixture and beat for 3 mins and not 2 1/2 as recommended.




The above were made on Saturday and with the experience of these I moved on to being more adventures. On Sunday I made the protein loaf and the coffee and chocolate loaf.

 

For the protein bread I had to add a few more ingredients, I had to add 2 scoops of protein powder http://www.pulsin.co.uk/ , 2 table spoons of honey and 50ml of water. Due to the extra power from the protein I had to beat it for longer, but carfully and try to add as much air as possible because it was a heavier dough mix. This proved to be more successful and had more of a raise then the others, this was to my surprise! I had it toasted with some jam and butter and wow what a treat. It took 3 attempts ot get a good raise and a good bake but I did it!


Last but not least I tried a coffee and chocolate loaf....well it was ok.....just not great at all. So I wont be posting that one..hahahhahahahha.


THOUGHTS;

The mix was very easy to use and the instructions are floor less, impossible to not get right. I would recommend splashing a little water in the over to add moister to make a better bake and help the raise. Helping the bread raise is tricky, leaving it to prove doesnt really do much unless you get the mixing part right. Mix the dough well, and carefully, beat air into it and not out of it! Then leave it to prove for 30-40mins in a warm place. Then bake it....this should help alot!

GOOD LUCK! and ENJOY!  

@pulsin - NEW MINT CHOC CHIP PROTEIN BAR ----- WOW! Delicious.

This is by far the tastiest bar to date! wow what a creation. The mint isn't too over powering and the chocolaty goodness comes through. The protein is obviously an added bonus to the equation!

This bar is perfect for an on the go recovery,  a protein snack or even with a nice cuppa at the end of the day for a healthy gluten free desert. I would not question giving this to anyone and telling them just how good it is. It will literally fly off the shelves with it tasting this good, you will have to go back for me after trying them.

A delicious, protein-packed alternative to a chocolate bar.

Enriched with raw rice protein, Pulsin's Mint Choc Chip Protein Snack is designed to give you sustained energy release without the crash. Containing a generous smattering of chocolate chips as well as a healthy handful of cashews and real peppermint oil

Protein is needed to build muscle and to stay healthy, making these bars ideal for athletes in training, those looking to lose weight, or anyone who needs an energy lift during the day.

• Vegan
 
• No added sugar
 
• Dairy Free
 
• Gluten Free
 
• No Trans Fats
 
• Non GMO

http://www.pulsin.co.uk/pulsin-snack-bars/mint-choc-chip